Snow-melting apparatus



March 19, 1968 R. B. ROEMER SNOWMELTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8, 1966 ATTORNEYS.

19, 1968 5,, RQEMER SNOW-MELTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 8, 1966 '7 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,373,734 SNOW-MELTING APPARATUS Raymond B. Roemer, 1091 Cleveland Drive, Cheektowaga, N.Y. 14225 Filed Mar. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 532,620 2 Claims. (Cl. 126343.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This apparatus includes a container for the snow and ice to be melted in which a coil having at least one turn is normally submerged in water resulting from the melting and in which combustion of fuel takes place in a part of this coil and in which hot products of combustion pass through the remainder of the coil while submerged, resul ing in high efficiency in the use of heat.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the snow-melting apparatus embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly in section.

FIG. 3 is a transverse, sectional view thereof on line 3-3, FIG. 1.

The snow-melting apparatus showing one embodiment of my invention includes a container or tank 5 which is preferably placed into a shallow excavation below the surrounding surface so that snow or ice can be plowed or pushed along the surface into the top of the container. This container 5 is preferably rectangular in shape and is formed with two compartments, one compartment 6 containing the coil or coils which contain the heat, and the other compartment 7 containing the burner and the control means therefor. Since such burner and the various devices used in connection with the operation of the burners are well known and readily available on the market and since they do not constitute a part of this invention, they are not shown.

A burner (not shown) located in the compartment 7 terminates in a pipe or nozzle 10 which is coupled to a tube or duct 11 in which further combustion of the gases discharged to the pipe 10 continues. This tube 11 extends into the compartment 6 along the lower portion thereof and has at its other end a bend which terminates in a duct 12, also extending lengthwise of the lower part of he container, and this duct 12 is connected by means of a connecting pipe 14 to another duct 15, also extending lengthwise of the compartment 6. This duct 15 in turn connects with a connecting duct or tube 16 leading to one end of another tube or duct 17 from the other end of which the products of combustion pass through a connecting duct 19 upwardly to a duct or tube 20 which extends lengthwise in the upper portion of the container and is provided at intervals with discharge pipes or nozzles 22. The several ducts constitute a continuous passage or coil through which the flame and combustion gases pass. The pipe or duct 20 is arranged at a side of the container 5 and the nozzles 22 are arranged near the top of the container and directed toward the opposite side thereof so that any fuel after passing through the ducts 11, 12, 15 and 17 is discharged from the pipe 20 through the nozzles 22 directly across the container. Consequently any heat remaining in the gases discharged through the nozzle 22 will act directly on the snow or ice contained in the upper part of the container, or on the upper surface of the water in the container.

In order to provide the most desirable operation of the apparatus, I have formed the ducts 12, .15 and 17 at their upper parts with top walls 24 which are substan tially of inverted V-shape so that snow or ice dropped into the container will tend to slide downwardly on opposite sides of the top walls 24 so that there will be no tendency of snow or ice to become lodged on top of these ducts, which of course would interefere with the efiicient melting of the snow or ice. It will be noted that ducts are mounted above the base wall 27 of the container and these ducts may be supported in any suitable manner, for example, by means of angle bars 28 or the like extending upwardly from the bottom of the container.

It is intended that the heating coils or ducts of the apparatus in use be submerged in water and for this purpose I provide a stand pipe 30 extending upwardly through the bottom of the container and terminating at its upper end in the desired water level to be maintained in the apparatus. It will be noted in FIG. 2 that this stand pipe maintains a water level in the container above the various ducts 1147 inclusive and below the discharge nozzles 22 arranged in the upper duct 20. Another discharge duct (not shown) is provided in the bottom of the compartment 6 of the container which is kept closed during the operation of the snow melting apparatus but may be opened to drain the apparatus when not in use.

By means of this arrangement any snow or ice which is dropped into the container contacts in the first place with the water contained in the same so that it will melt rapidly since the water will flow around all sides of the ice and snow and penetrate the snow. Any unmelted snow and ice would of course move down to the outer surfaces of the ducts, particularly when more snow and ice are dropped into the container so that snow which has not been melted by the water will be in direct contact with the heated ducts and thus become rapidly melted. Further snow and ice may of course also fall between the sides of the ducts into the water heated by the same and thus become melted.

The construction described has the further advantage that when the container is drained, the inverted V-shaped top walls of the three ducts will drain all of the water from the tops of the ducts so that rusting of the same will be reduced.

he top of the container may be closed by means of any suitable grid or grill, not shown, through which the snow and ice may drop, and any snow or ice resting on the top of the grill will be exposed on the under surfaces to the products of combustion discharged through the jets or nozzles 22. These products of combustion, when there is no snow or ice resting upon the grill, will also act on any snow or ice floating on the water in the container, or act directly on the water in the container.

The container will preferably be made of steel and the upper walls of the same are flanged outwardly as shown at 35, and a top 36 may be secured to the upper edges of the container. This top edge and the flange 35 serve to protect the container from impacts resulting from plows or other devices used to push the snow or ice into the container, and for further protection I provide plates or strips 38 of upwardly arched shape which are secured to the upper edges of parts of the contained to deflect the plow or scrapers upwardly away from the edges of the container.

In the use of the apparatus the heat of the flame passing through the several ducts will be practically completely cooled off during the passage through the ducts and blowing of the same over the top of the container so that very eflicient use is made of the fuel. During the use of the apparatus there will of course be short intervals of time during which the supply of snow and ice to the top of the container is interrupted and at such times heat from the flame is stored in the water contained in the tank for melting the next charge of snow delivered to the apparatus, thus avoiding wasting of such heat.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the. invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A snow-melting unit comprising:

(a) an open top melting tank adapted to be emplaced in the ground with its upper edges substantially level therewith to directly receive snow pushed along the ground surface;

(b) said melting tank having considerably greater length than width and being relatively shallow;

(c) a burner compartment adjacent said melting tank;

(d) a heat exchange duct assembly disposed within and adjacent to the bottom of said melting tank having one end directly connected with said burner compartment to receive flame and combustible products;

(e) said heat exchange duct assembly extending the length and occupying the width of said melting tank and including a plurality of spaced, serially-connected, parallel ducts of large cross section with flat sides and an inverted V-shape top wall;

(f) a water discharge pipe which has an intake disposed in said melting tank above said heat exchange duct assembly and has its other end adapted to connect to a sewer, whereby water is continually maintained in said heat exchange duct assembly to receive heat from the combustible gases passing through said duct assembly;

4. (g) the side Walls of said parallel ducts having a height 7 which is a substantial percentage of the depth of water in said melting tank; (h) a combustible gas discharge tube connected to the 5 other end of said heat exchange duct assembly and which extends the length of said melting tank at a level immediately below the upper edges of said melting tank; and (i) said combustible gas discharge tube having a plu- 10 rality of spaced discharge nozzles which direct the combustible gases across the width of said melting tank above the water level.

2. The snow-melting unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) protective means is disposed along the upper edges of said melting tank to prevent damage thereto from snow plows pushing snow into said melting tank.

References Cited 30 CHARLES J. MYHRE, Primary Examiner. 

